The original Avengers
Natasha Romanoff
Black Widow
Dead — sacrificed herself on Vormir for the Soul Stone
- Appearances
- 8
Along the chronological spine
Where the guide talks about them (12)
- The Incredible Hulk (film, 2008) — commissions the experiment that creates the Hulk, hunts Banner, creates the Abomination via Blonsky
- Captain America: Civil War (film, 2016) — now Secretary of State; the man who presents the Sokovia Accords
- Avengers: Infinity War (film) — brief video appearance
- Avengers: Endgame (film) — attends Tony Stark's funeral
- Black Widow (film) — brief
- Captain America: Brave New World (film, 2025) — President of the United States, recast from William Hurt (who died in 2022) to Harrison Ford, and this is the only film where he becomes Red Hulk
Iron Man 2: The arc reactor is poisoning Stark. Ivan Vanko, son of a Stark Industries defector, attacks him; rival contractor Justin Hammer backs Vanko. Stark synthesises a new element from his father's old research, cures himself, and — crucially — is assessed by S.H.I.E.L.D. agent Natasha Romanoff and judged unsuitable for the Avengers. He's recommended as a consultant only.
Set immediately after Civil War, while Natasha is a fugitive. She reunites with her fake Soviet sleeper-cell family from childhood: sister Yelena Belova, "father" Alexei Shostakov / Red Guardian, and "mother" Melina Vostokoff. They destroy the Red Room, the programme that trained and chemically conditioned Black Widows, killing its director Dreykov. His daughter Antonia, whom Natasha believed she had killed and who was in fact turned into the mind-controlled Taskmaster, is freed.
What is a "Black Widow," exactly? Girls — often trafficked or abducted as children — are put through the Red Room and trained as assassins, forcibly sterilised, and later chemically conditioned so they physically cannot disobey. Natasha escaped and defected via Clint Barton, who was sent to kill her and chose not to. This film is her freeing the remaining Widows with a chemical antidote.
Key events: Rogers fights his 2012 self; Stark meets his father in 1970 and gets the conversation he never had; Thor speaks to Frigga on the day she dies and gets absolution; Banner obtains the Time Stone from the Ancient One by explaining what's at stake. On Vormir, Natasha Romanoff and Clint Barton fight over which of them will die for the Soul Stone. Natasha wins the argument by losing the fight, and dies.
| Character | First appeared in | Route to Valentina |
|---|---|---|
| Yelena Belova | Black Widow (FILM, 2021) | Recruited in the post-credits, pointed at Barton |
| John Walker | Falcon and the Winter Soldier (SERIES) | Approached right after he's stripped of the shield |
| Ghost / Ava Starr | Ant-Man and the Wasp (FILM, 2018) | Not shown; recruited offscreen |
| Taskmaster / Antonia | Black Widow (FILM) | Not shown |
| Alexei Shostakov | Black Widow (FILM) | Not a recruit — Yelena's fake father, freed from prison |
| Bucky Barnes | The First Avenger (FILM, 2011) | Not a recruit — investigating her as a congressman |
| Bob Reynolds / Sentry | Thunderbolts* (FILM, 2025) | Her test subject, not her employee |
| Character | Premiered | Appeared in | Status now |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tony Stark / Iron Man | Iron Man (2008) | IM 1–3, Avengers, Ultron, Civil War, Homecoming, Infinity War, Endgame | Dead — used the Stones to erase Thanos, 2023 |
| Steve Rogers / Captain America | The First Avenger (2011) | First Avenger, Avengers, Winter Soldier, Ultron, Civil War, Infinity War, Endgame | Lived a full life in the past; returned aged and handed over the shield. D — how, unexplained |
| Thor | Thor (2011) | Thor 1–4, Avengers, Ultron, Infinity War, Endgame, Guardians 3 | Alive, raising Gorr's daughter Love. D |
| Bruce Banner / Hulk | The Incredible Hulk (2008) | Avengers, Ultron, Ragnarok, Infinity War, Endgame, She-Hulk, Brand New Day | Alive as Smart Hulk — Banner's mind, Hulk's body. Has a son, Skaar, on Sakaar |
| Natasha Romanoff / Black Widow | Iron Man 2 (2010) | IM2, Avengers, Winter Soldier, Ultron, Civil War, Infinity War, Endgame, Black Widow | Dead — sacrificed herself on Vormir for the Soul Stone |
| Clint Barton / Hawkeye | Thor (2011, cameo) | Avengers, Ultron, Civil War, Endgame, Hawkeye | Alive, retired to the farm, mentoring Kate Bishop |
| Nick Fury | Iron Man (2008, post-credits) | Most of Phases 1–3, Captain Marvel, Secret Invasion, The Marvels | Alive, aboard the SABER space station |
| Character | Premiered | Appeared in | Status now |
|---|---|---|---|
| Yelena Belova | Black Widow (2021) | Black Widow, Hawkeye, Thunderbolts, Brand New Day | Alive — leads the New Avengers from the Watchtower. D |
| Alexei Shostakov / Red Guardian | Black Widow (2021) | Black Widow, Thunderbolts | Alive. D |
| Melina Vostokoff | Black Widow (2021) | Black Widow | Alive, not seen since |
| John Walker / U.S. Agent | FATWS (2021) | FATWS, Thunderbolts | Alive. D |
| Ava Starr / Ghost | Ant-Man and the Wasp (2018) | Ant-Man 2, Thunderbolts | Alive, stabilised but not cured. D |
| Bob Reynolds / Sentry | Thunderbolts* (2025) | Thunderbolts | Alive, with the Void contained rather than gone. D |
| Antonia Dreykov / Taskmaster | Black Widow (2021) | Black Widow, Thunderbolts | Dead — killed early in Thunderbolts*. Not in Doomsday |
| Valentina Allegra de Fontaine | FATWS (2021) | FATWS, Black Widow (post-credits), Thunderbolts, Brave New World | Alive — CIA Director, nominally in charge and actually controlled by the team |
| Character | Premiered | Appeared in | Status now |
|---|---|---|---|
| Thanos | Avengers (2012, post-credits) | Guardians, Ultron, Infinity War, Endgame | Erased from existence by Stark. Both versions |
| He Who Remains / Kang | Loki S1 (2021) | Loki S1–2, Quantumania | Dead, and the character is retired — Jonathan Majors was fired and not recast |
| Ultron | Age of Ultron (2015) | Age of Ultron | Destroyed — and returning in VisionQuest |
| The Collector | Dark World (2013, post-credits) | Dark World, Guardians, Infinity War | Dead, killed by Thanos offscreen |
| The Grandmaster | Ragnarok (2017) | Ragnarok | Alive, deposed, not seen since |
| Arishem | Eternals (2021) | Eternals | Alive — took three Eternals for judgment and never came back |
| Mephisto | Ironheart (2025) | Ironheart | Alive, now loose in the MCU |
| Carol Danvers / Captain Marvel | Captain Marvel (2019) | Captain Marvel, Endgame, Shang-Chi, The Marvels | Alive, mostly in deep space |
| Monica Rambeau | Captain Marvel (2019, as a child) | Captain Marvel, WandaVision, The Marvels | Stranded in another universe — the one with Beast and Charles Xavier |
| Shang-Chi | Shang-Chi (2021) | Shang-Chi | Alive, holding the ten rings. D |
| Xialing | Shang-Chi (2021) | Shang-Chi | Alive, running the Ten Rings organisation |
| Thaddeus Ross | The Incredible Hulk (2008) | Incredible Hulk, Civil War, Infinity War, Endgame, Black Widow, Brave New World | Alive, imprisoned at the Raft by his own choice |
| Samuel Sterns / the Leader | The Incredible Hulk (2008) | Incredible Hulk, Brave New World | Alive, imprisoned |
Tier 1 — the load-bearing fifteen (~33 hours) The Avengers (FILM) → Age of Ultron (FILM) → Civil War (FILM) → Black Widow (FILM) → Infinity War (FILM) → Endgame (FILM) → Loki S1 (SERIES) → Wakanda Forever (FILM) → Quantumania (FILM) → Loki S2 (SERIES) → Deadpool & Wolverine (FILM) → Brave New World (FILM) → Thunderbolts* (FILM) → Fantastic Four: First Steps (FILM) → Spider-Man: Brand New Day (FILM)
3. Black Widow's post-credits scene takes place years after the rest of the film. If you watch it chronologically, skip that scene and come back to it at Hawkeye.
Phase Four (2021–2022): FILMS — Black Widow · Shang-Chi · Eternals · No Way Home · Multiverse of Madness · Love and Thunder · Wakanda Forever SERIES — WandaVision · Falcon and the Winter Soldier · Loki S1 · What If...? S1 · Hawkeye · Moon Knight · Ms. Marvel · She-Hulk · Guardians Holiday Special